Today, the National Book Foundation announced the longlist for the 2026 National Book Award for Fiction. Ten titles have been chosen from a pool of 451 books submitted by their publishers for consideration. This year’s Fiction judges are Matt Bell, Caro De Robertis (Chair), Danielle King, Akhil Sharma, and Diane Wilson.
The finalists across all categories will be revealed on Tuesday, October 6, and the winners will be celebrated at the 77th National Book Awards Ceremony on November 18.
In the meantime, here is the 2026 Fiction longlist:
Hannah Lillith Assadi, Paradiso 17 Knopf / Penguin Random House
Kimberly Blaeser, Red Ants Counterpoint Press
Edwidge Danticat, Dèy Knopf / Penguin Random House
Julián Delgado Lopera, Pretend You’re Dead and I Carry You Liveright / W. W. Norton & Company
Louise Erdrich, Python’s Kiss Harper / HarperCollins Publishers
Marlon James, The Disappearers Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House
Valeria Luiselli, Beginning Middle End Knopf / Penguin Random House
Alexander Maksik, Passengers Europa Editions
Kenan Orhan, The Renovation Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Publishers
Morgan Thomas, Mad Eden MCD / Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Macmillan Publishers
